[h=3]By COREY BOLES[/h]Republicans began formally nominating Mitt Romney to be their standard-bearer as GOP leaders sought to broaden the party's appeal to women with a convention address by Ann Romney, the candidate's wife.
The GOP convention—delayed a day by Hurricane Isaac, which is churning through the Gulf of Mexico—began in earnest Tuesday with a number of short addresses by candidates and members of congress. The main draw will be primetime speeches by Mrs. Romney and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Mrs. Romney is expected to make an appeal to women voters, a group that accounts for more than half of potential voters and one that largely prefers President Barack Obama over Mr. Romney. Her speech is part of the campaign's effort to reintroduce Mr. Romney to the American people by telling his life story.
Mr. Christie's speech is intended to fire up conservative Republicans who didn't support Mr. Romney during the primary season and have been reluctant to embrace him.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, one of Mr. Romney's rivals for the nomination, also will address the convention and is expected to appeal to social conservatives.
Mr. Romney arrived in Tampa Tuesday morning, but won't address the convention until Thursday night, when he accepts the party's nomination.
En route to Tampa Tuesday, the Romney campaign's top strategist played down the bump Mr. Romney may receive from the convention.
"This convention's different because of the hurricane," Stuart Stevens said. "I just think all bets are off about any kind of past performance being a predictor of the future."
[h=3]Photos: The Republican National Convention[/h]
Jason Reed/ReutersConvention staff laid out information packets on delegates' seats.
The effort to keep expectations in check marks a shift for the Romney camp, which until Tuesday touted five turning points for the election: The running-mate pick, the convention and the three debates. A recent Romney campaign polling brief emphasizes the convention bounce and shows that challengers tend to get an 11-point boost in polls from their conventions.
Tuesday's floor activities, titled "We Built This," are expected to underscore the Republican commitment to free enterprise and business owners, while drawing a contrast with Mr. Obama's recent claim that owners of private firms would have been unable to build their businesses without assistance from government.
Mr. Obama was referring to the education system and transportation infrastructure, but Republicans have jumped on the remark as evidence the president distrusts private businesses.
GOP leaders will take a formal roll call assigning convention delegates to Mr. Romney during Tuesday's session, although a senior adviser to the campaign said that neither Mr. Romney nor his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, will be officially nominated until Thursday.
In a break with tradition, Mr. Romney's home state of Massachusetts won't be given the honor of putting the candidate over the top in securing enough delegates to capture the nomination. Instead, the convention will call states in alphabetical order. The Romney campaign adviser said the state expected to clinch the nomination for Mr. Romney begins with the letter "N," but wouldn't specify which one.
Hurricane Isaac continues to loom, with the storm expected to make landfall near New Orleans Tuesday evening around the time television networks begin their primetime coverage of the convention.
RNC officials said there are no plans to further alter the convention agenda, but they could change that if the storm causes serious damage.
—Sara Murray contributed to this article.Write to Corey Boles at [email protected]
The GOP convention—delayed a day by Hurricane Isaac, which is churning through the Gulf of Mexico—began in earnest Tuesday with a number of short addresses by candidates and members of congress. The main draw will be primetime speeches by Mrs. Romney and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Mrs. Romney is expected to make an appeal to women voters, a group that accounts for more than half of potential voters and one that largely prefers President Barack Obama over Mr. Romney. Her speech is part of the campaign's effort to reintroduce Mr. Romney to the American people by telling his life story.
Mr. Christie's speech is intended to fire up conservative Republicans who didn't support Mr. Romney during the primary season and have been reluctant to embrace him.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, one of Mr. Romney's rivals for the nomination, also will address the convention and is expected to appeal to social conservatives.
Mr. Romney arrived in Tampa Tuesday morning, but won't address the convention until Thursday night, when he accepts the party's nomination.
En route to Tampa Tuesday, the Romney campaign's top strategist played down the bump Mr. Romney may receive from the convention.
"This convention's different because of the hurricane," Stuart Stevens said. "I just think all bets are off about any kind of past performance being a predictor of the future."
[h=3]Photos: The Republican National Convention[/h]
Jason Reed/ReutersConvention staff laid out information packets on delegates' seats.
The effort to keep expectations in check marks a shift for the Romney camp, which until Tuesday touted five turning points for the election: The running-mate pick, the convention and the three debates. A recent Romney campaign polling brief emphasizes the convention bounce and shows that challengers tend to get an 11-point boost in polls from their conventions.
Tuesday's floor activities, titled "We Built This," are expected to underscore the Republican commitment to free enterprise and business owners, while drawing a contrast with Mr. Obama's recent claim that owners of private firms would have been unable to build their businesses without assistance from government.
Mr. Obama was referring to the education system and transportation infrastructure, but Republicans have jumped on the remark as evidence the president distrusts private businesses.
GOP leaders will take a formal roll call assigning convention delegates to Mr. Romney during Tuesday's session, although a senior adviser to the campaign said that neither Mr. Romney nor his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, will be officially nominated until Thursday.
In a break with tradition, Mr. Romney's home state of Massachusetts won't be given the honor of putting the candidate over the top in securing enough delegates to capture the nomination. Instead, the convention will call states in alphabetical order. The Romney campaign adviser said the state expected to clinch the nomination for Mr. Romney begins with the letter "N," but wouldn't specify which one.
Hurricane Isaac continues to loom, with the storm expected to make landfall near New Orleans Tuesday evening around the time television networks begin their primetime coverage of the convention.
RNC officials said there are no plans to further alter the convention agenda, but they could change that if the storm causes serious damage.
—Sara Murray contributed to this article.Write to Corey Boles at [email protected]